In 2020, WHISE began its partnership with the Department of Education and Training (DET)’s Respectful Relationships area teams, from Bayside Peninsula and Southern Melbourne to establish the Critical Friends Network (CFN).
The Critical Friends Network (CFN) was revitalised in 2023, by reconnecting with existing Critical friends and several new members being added to the network. The CFN ensures that those working in our schools, under the Respectful Relationships initiative, have the support and encouragement they need.
With over 1500 schools participating across Victoria, the Respectful Relationships initiative is a whole-school approach to the prevention of family and gender-based violence and aims to create a culture of respect and equality now, to change the story of family violence for future generations.
As a vital part of the initiative in the SMR, Critical Friends are a group of diverse professionals who have been recruited and trained by WHISE and the Department of Education and Training (DET). Their shared commitment to promoting respectful relationships, preventing family violence, and promoting gender equality in schools makes them essential.
Before connecting new Critical Friends with schools, the protocol requires building their capacity in family violence 101 and intersectional gender equality. This Critical Friends gender equity and family violence training was held online in April 2024 with 19 people.
The participants worked in government and public sectors, health and wellbeing, and education and early learning. Their professional roles were diverse, encompassing several fields, including:
- Health and wellbeing roles– e.g., Health Psychologist, and Health Promotion Officers.
- Education and training roles – e.g., Educator, and Training and Education Worker.
- Youth and community services roles– e.g., Children and Youth Coordinator, and Youth Projects and Partnerships Officer.
- Respect and relationships roles – e.g., Respectful Relationships Liaison Officer.
- Leadership roles – e.g., School Principal.
The participants reported high levels of pre-training knowledge in family violence and intersectional gender equality however, there was notable improvement in their self-reported confidence to talk about the link between family violence and gender equality in schools and significant changes in participants’ confidence in considering young peoples’ diverse identities and experiences when supporting schools using a whole-school approach.